Oh ok, so it is sort of a product of the build. I can live with it, just was curious because otherwise like I said it performs fine.
Thanks. Since it works fine otherwise I will just live with it.
Yes, one of my trucks has done that for the last 20 years or so, not better, not worse. Just one of those things to fix if you have to go into it for a more serious problem down the road.
Your problem is a factory problem many TQF's suffered from, from the first to the last one built. The manual shift valve was designed in such a way fluid from the converter drained out to half level, starting the engine in P or N would not purge the converter of air until you put it in drive and it would feel like a rubber band winding up. There is a valve body kit that replaces the manual valve and fixes this, it's called a NOYOYO kit from Transgo. Gil Youngers original company, I have installed several of them along with shift kits and the problem is fixed for good. But then since you are running a reverse manual this may be a no go thing, I never worked with a reverse shift, only manual standard forward bodies. But the problem is still the same, the converter drains back. You need to contact Transgo and ask if the NOYOYO kit will function in a reverse pattern valve body first then follow their advice. Many methods have been tried to fix this including a check valve in the cooler lines and they all failed to some extent because they didn't address the real problem which was clearance in the bushings and seals in the converter charge system along with the fact the shift valve did not close off the port in the valve body that allowed fluid to drain down, which also raised fluid level in the pan and the next thing that leaked was the shift selector seal above the pan rail ! So many MOPAR trans, would leave a puddle of oil because of this design flaw. Add that to the fact that so many people would build these trans and install the little seal on the throttle pressure to the main shift shaft upside down because it was easier to install that way. The best way to install the little lip seal is to install it with the lip facing the pan and put a metal washer under the snap ring which will hold the inner shaft up and protect the rubber seal from the snap ring. I did read some about converting to a reverse pattern a long time ago and it was all done with drilling and plugging so the stock valve was likely used, if so than the NOYOYO kit should solve the problem, others here say it will. Asking Transgo will be the best advice. Working on these old trannys is not that complicated and with a set of instructions and a little patience and tools, some petroleum gel and it can be done by most anyone with mechanical hands and mind. I started my career with a TQF at 16 years old and learned how to do overdrives and electronic controls reading instructions and doing them.
Pressure reg has nothing to do with the converter drain back, it's all in the manual shift valve where the ring closest to the link tab is, it is machined smaller than the rest of the rings which seal to the valve body, it allows fluid to escape converter whether there is a worn pump busing or not. The fix uses a valve with all the rings the same diameter to keep air from leaking into the TC. Old TQF's used a special valve and spring to control the converter, either a converter pressure reg or a switch valve depending on if there was a lockup or not. TQF's used in Jeeps were configured different also.
Since the method MOPAR posted on the fill tube level stick, start engine in park, shift into drive then place in Neural and check level, which was supposed to purge converter and set running fluid level was standard, this would be the simplest way to deal with the issue. I know how I dealt with it years ago. I was always cooking my transmissions or breaking tail housings or something. When I found out about the NO YO YO kit I started installing them in every transmission I worked on, TQF's that is. I've been out of the repair business on those trans for years now so I can't tell you anything about the Land Rover.
I agree and for the record, how often is a seal "supposed" to be installed in such a way to allow fluid to be held out instead of in? Of course if the purpose was to keep water out. I say as you say, I never recalled pulling that little seal out with the lip towards the inside of a trans. Now if the fluid level is retained as it was intended from factory, that level should remain below the KD shaft seal which is doesn't. When I first started building TF's I didn't really pay attention to this but soon after that I did, it was an AHAH moment for me. I used to have an oil spot under my early day cars and was frustrated by it until I really paid attention, around the third time I had gone into my first 727, before I learned about the NOYOYO kit, that was around the 4 or 5th time. I had to go thru a learning curve in the late 70's early 80's which got me to a transmission that had a shift that I have never seen from anyone else. It was beyond comparison, about as good as any TH350 or 400, NO lag from second to drive, 1st to 2nd was a tire smoker and 2nd to drive would make the ash tray open on its own even at light throttle. Heavy peddle would pin you in the seat from start to let up and require you to leave your head on the head rest if you didn't want a pain in the neck. I had that trans behind a built 440 in an E body daily driver that was capable of low 10's with a Thermoquad in the mid 1980's. Last time I used that kit was in an OD back in 05 I think and it was a small body case in a 3/4 van, go figure, the guy instantly left town with a large trailer for Colo. and loaded up with glass sliding doors and ran the trans in OD and smoked it. He let all the pieces go with the shop and got a POS used trans that lasted a week then scrapped the van. After a few jobs like that I just about gave up fixing other peoples junk. So now I have a bunch of Chevy HP stuff and would trade it all off for a collection of MOPAR stuff and a decent A body, or even a non performance B.
So would I !!! I never acquired my ASE but I did auto and heavy Diesel work most of my life along with a lot of other stuff, I miss working on stuff now. Its's just getting too hard to find this stuff anymore. I would trade off all my latest collection of super chevy stuff for a MOPAR project, I have a killer set of alloy heads a stroker crank, billet rods, bowtie block, shaft mounted stainless roller rockers. I left a bunch of stuff in Tx. many years ago in a state of depression after nearly winding up in a wheel chair in a industrial injury. Mostly MOPAR BB stuff. I had a 440 that was being built up with a set of Hemi rods fitted to it, a set of ported 906 heads and verything else including the best 727 I ever owned along with a 72 Cuda on a piece of land with a nice house I was almost finished making payments on, left it all to my daughter as wedding present and she didn't care enough to keep it, let it get repo'ed when she broke up with her boy. I had plans of returning to collect it all but never made it happen, that was back in 89. Now all I want to do is get a second life to do it over without all the mistakes I made.
